


Checkmate

by xploded_tb



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-11
Updated: 2017-08-11
Packaged: 2018-12-14 03:09:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11774262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xploded_tb/pseuds/xploded_tb
Summary: “Aomine, do you believe in destiny?”





	Checkmate

**Author's Note:**

> I’m doing something I haven’t done in a long time – write. Yep! I haven’t written a fanfic in the longest time (seriously! YEARS), and today I’ve decided to write one out just because I love AoKuro…
> 
> So pardon me. I’ve never been the best writer or a good writer, but this piece at least comes from my heart and soul that loves this pairing very much. 
> 
> Please make sure you have watched the entire anime series before reading this one!

Damn Tetsu for staring at him with those blank, hard-to-read eyes.

Damn Kagami for making such great food.

Damn Nigou for being such a cute dog.

And most of it all, damn Akashi for being overly and unnecessarily observant.

“It’s been awhile since I’ve been back at your place… Nothing really has changed.”

And there stood Tetsu in his room at 11.30pm, agreeing to stay over at Aomine’s since it was getting too late to make it for the final train. At the end of the party, Aomine thought, _this is fine; everything’s fine. It’s just an innocent invitation to my place. I’ve got no ulterior motives and no other thoughts. I’m just being considerate and no, I’m not asking for too much._

“You still put your dirty magazines in the same place, too.” Came the remark from Tetsu, who was now settled down at the side of his bed, looking underneath it at the stacks of magazines.

“…And that was the first thing you found when you first came to my place.”

“Yes, it was. But more importantly…”

Light blue eyes looked up straight into his, as if trying to find their place in there.

Aomine found himself frozen in place, just like he was earlier.

“Is there a reason you suggested my staying over?”

 

**One hour earlier**

 

The birthday party was a success and everyone had more than chummed up with each other.

Murasakibara, who at first was making faces at Kiyoshi’s presence, had managed very small, short talks with the man. Although, his interest in speaking with Kiyoshi was only when the topic was about the different types of snacks in the world.

Midorima, who was irate that his dried mushrooms had been used in their food, had begun his usual horoscope talk with Himuro who (strangely) listened with interest. Meanwhile, Takao half-listened and half-chuckled at his partner while chatting with Izuki about the latest mobile games.

Kise had ended up engaging in an enthusiastic conversation with the two girls about fashion. From his bag, he pulled out a fashion magazine that featured both female and male fashion and had started to introduce new brands of cosmetics to them. 

Aomine’s eating contest with Kagami had ended, and the red head had been dragged off to hang with Tetsu and the remaining of the Seirin team.

_Ugh, that was too much food, no matter how good… Maybe I’ll go get some fresh air for a bit._

He slid open the door to the balcony and almost immediately regretted it.

_Damn it! It’s freezing out here!_

Within the warmth of Kagami’s lively living room, Aomine had completely forgotten it was still January and freezing cold outside.

He looked out into the quiet neighborhood and found a little park nearby, along with a basketball court.

_…Kagami, you rich bastard. A nice neighborhood and a great location? And a basketball court nearby?_

Today’s rare meeting with the Generation of Miracles wasn’t something he was particularly excited about, but since it was Tetsu’s birthday, he figured the least he could do was to show up and make Tetsu happy.

But the game today did make some unnecessary feelings resurface again. Those were the feelings he’d had since he’d become Tetsu’s partner. Those were also the very feelings that he wished he’d been able to get rid of ever since his vehement rejection of Tetsu’s pleas.

Until today, it still hurt thinking of that rainy day. The face that usually concealed emotions was full of hurt and tears that day. And Aomine knew that his words would affect Tetsu that much.

_Yet you still went ahead with it anyway. No matter how much I wanted my wish, no matter how much I wanted to get rid of that feeling of disappointment, I still shouldn’t have taken it out on Tetsu._

He looked down at his palms that had received so many of his partner’s passes today. It was cold outside, but the heat of those passes still remained.

Forgiveness.

He hadn’t even managed to apologize or even say thank you at all. Yet Tetsu didn’t ask and didn’t pry further. The boy had just accepted it and continued to converse with him like everything was normal.

_Tetsu, what should I do…_

Sighing, he leaned forward with his arms resting on the balcony’s railings.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

“Fuck! Damn it, Akashi! When did you learn misdirection?!”

Red eyes twinkled in amusement.

“You were the one deep in your own thoughts, Aomine. Your zoning out has nothing to do with me.”

Aomine sighed in defeat. He supposed that a captain would always remain a captain. It was impossible to win him.

“What made you come today, Akashi?”

“Why wouldn’t I come?”

“…Don’t return my question with a question, Akashi."

_I won’t win Akashi in eloquence, but…_

“It’s Kuroko’s birthday. As simple as that.” Akashi said with a light smile.

They fell into a comfortable silence, until Akashi spoke up.

“Aomine, do you believe in destiny?”

Aomine thought his face must have gone through at least a few different expressions before settling on showing pure bewilderment, the sense of déjà vu and (if this can even be an expression) ‘is this a third Akashi’.

“Ah, an old friend was just asking me about this the other day, nothing to worry about. I was just merely curious.” The small smile turned into a sly smile.

_Satsuki, you…_

“I…don’t know.” He replied honestly, looking away in embarrassment when he remembered he did something so out of character.

“What do you truly think, Aomine?” The captain pressed.

“I…think some things happen for a reason, at least.” He paused. “I mean, I don’t know anything about crazy concepts like ‘destiny’ or ‘fate’, but anything that happens must have some sort of trigger to it. And there must be an effect to the cause.”

“A logical answer indeed.” Shifting from his position, Akashi turned around and leaned on the railings with his back and elbows supporting him. He continued, “What we’ve done before definitely leads up to the present. That includes our meeting up for today.”

A short silence settled between them again as Aomine looked out at the basketball court nearby, which now had two people playing there. And then…

“What about Kuroko?”

This broke his gaze from the court and to Akashi. “Huh? Tetsu? What about him?”

“When will you finally say the things you have always wanted to say?”

Dumbfounded, he could only open and then close his mouth again for a lack of a reply. The Akashi he knew was direct, but it was never such on a personal level.

Aomine furrowed his eyebrows, looked away and thought, _what do I even want to say to Tetsu? That I’m not just really sorry and thankful at the same time, but I really want to get together with him? That these feelings had never gone away? That I tried hard to deny these feelings by pushing him away harder to get rid of them? That...I just didn’t want to face my des–_

As if reading his thoughts, Akashi pressed once again, “Aomine, I’ll ask again: do you believe in destiny?”

Aomine froze in his spot. With that comment, he realized two things from this conversation with Akashi.

One, he _loved_ Tetsu. Dearly. The more he tried to reject those feelings and the boy, the more he felt drawn towards the other. The more he felt sorry about his actions, the more he wanted Tetsu to forgive him. The more he felt thankful to Tetsu for granting his wish, the more he fell in love with the boy. This feeling was perhaps as strong as his love for basketball. So much so it scared him.

Two–

“I don’t think I need to say anymore. It’s time to checkmate this, Aomine.”

Saying that, Akashi pushed himself off the railing and headed back into the living room.

And two, that the asshole _knew_ about his feelings for Tetsu.

_Checkmate?! What the hell, Akashi… This isn’t… Goddamnit!_

Aomine let out a frustrated sigh, paced back and forth for about a good minute before stopping again to think about what to do from here on. Certainly, as Akashi had said, it was time to settle things. Mainly, his feelings for Tetsu. There were too many things to be able immediately process in the cold at night, so he decided to head back in.

And when he did, he realized nearly everyone had already left, except Kagami and Himuro.

_Ah well, I suppose this’ll just have to wait–_

“Aomine-kun.”

“Jesus, Tetsu!”

The light of his life, a.k.a. Kuroko Tetsuya was still around and had snuck up on him.

Not that the boy had to try very hard to do that in real life. Or even with sneaking up into Aomine’s heart. Basketball had always taken up 99% of it (surprisingly, only 1% of it was Horikita Mai). But right at this moment, Tetsu had occupied 100% of his heart. There was no way he could fit anything else in there.

“Most people are gone. Thank you for coming for the party. It’s getting late. I’ll stay a bit and help clean up–”

“It’s fine, Kuroko. We’ve done some of that earlier while we were eating anyway. And Tatsuya’s gonna stay to help out. You and Aomine should go.” Kagami chimed in.

Himuro, who was setting down the final cup and plate into the sink, agreed. “Yeah, you two should also hurry back now. You wouldn’t want to miss your train… Oh.“

All of them were staring at the clock hanging on the kitchen wall of Kagami’s apartment.

“…Looks like we won’t make it, Tetsu.”

“Uh, I could lay out an extra mattress of sorts. And one of you could take the couch.” Kagami suggested.

“Well…” Tetsu seemed to consider this option.

“Tetsu, come to mine. It’s not that far from here anyway.”

_Whoa! Whoa whoa **whoa**! Aomine Daiki, what the hell are you even–_

“I mean, there’s space in this apartment, but it’d be pretty troublesome for you, right?”

_Okay, good. That’s a much better excuse. It’s less straightforward and less suspicious–_

“Okay.” Came the simple reply from Tetsu.

 

**One hour later**

 

He thought those blank eyes seemed to suggest more than that simple question, but he brushed it off with a logical answer.

“Uh, well, it really would be pretty intrusive right?” Shrugging, he continued, “I mean, if you think about it, we did all just turn up uninvited at his place suddenly at the party and all so…”

“…I didn’t know you were so considerate, Aomine-kun.”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?!”

Tetsu chuckled a little and got up to his feet.

“I’m sorry. No more teasing. Sorry, but I’d like to borrow a towel so I can take a shower, if you don’t mind.”

“Ah… Oh, right. I’ll get it for you.”

He walked towards his wardrobe to pull out a towel along with a spare shirt he used to wear when he was younger.

“Hey, Tetsu…”

“Yes?”

“…I…”

Holding the articles in his hand, he turned toward his former teammate.

Those eyes that looked straight into his seemed to flicker with emotion ever so slightly. He thought it was just a moment of his imagination, but…

“I’m sorry.”

He couldn’t bring himself to look away from those eyes that were now looking at him in a mixture of surprise and…

He bravely took a step forward. “And…I like you.”

_You did it. You went ahead and did it. No turning back now._

He patiently waited for a response from Tetsu. To his surprise, the usual poker face was replaced with a blush and a gentle smile.

“Thank you very much. I’m not sure if I deserve the apology…”

“No, Tetsu. What I did back then… I’m sorry. Really, really sorry.”

He was truly apologetic about it all. But he was still waiting for Tetsu to still say it. To say ‘I forgive you’.

Blue eyes briefly shut for a moment before opening again.

This time, they were just a little teary, but full of forgiveness and understanding.

_Ah…_

“It’s okay, Aomine-kun.”

_They weren’t ‘I forgive you’, but…_

Aomine smiled widely and hugged the boy. “Thanks, Tetsu.”

“Um…”

Tetsu was holding his hands awkwardly not knowing whether to return the hug or not.

“As for your confession…” Tetsu started as Aomine broke the embrace.

“You won’t win me over with just that towel and your old shirt, Aomine-kun.”

Looking down at his hand, he realized he still hadn’t handed them over to Tetsu yet. Still feeling quite embarrassed (and happy) about his confession, he laughed loudly.

Then, without hesitation, he bent down to give Tetsu a little peck on the forehead.

Tetsu only grew redder as he took the towel and the shirt from Aomine’s hands.

“You can sometimes do really embarrassing stuffs.” Saying that, Tetsu exited his room and headed for the bathroom.

Satisfied, Aomine plopped down on his bed and smiled to himself.

“I wonder if Tetsu believes in destiny…”

**Author's Note:**

> Oh dear, my writing skills are bad. But I thought this would be the perfect ending to the birthday episode!
> 
> I do really like AkaKuro, too. Heck, I like GoM x Kuroko really, but a teasing!Akashi couldn’t be better.
> 
> Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed.


End file.
